Why Not Make Voting Mandatory in the USA like Jury Duty is?

I went into a very dark space last night, and as a person who typically sees the glass half empty (albeit cracked) well…I fell into the crack. As an immigrant, now American citizen, I speak from a crevice of some knowledge. As an activist who can always do more, should do more, to fight for equal rights and human dignity for all, I speak from a crevice of some action. As a person who makes mistakes and has missed some voting over the years due to not planning absentee ballots in advance, I speak from a crevice of some honesty. And, as a person who spent hours working with others to make it easier for friends to understand where to vote; how to vote; who to vote for, I speak from a crevice of frustration and even resentment.

I am not here to say who to vote for, I am here to challenge our system to make it mandatory. I am also here to challenge all of us. If you want to have a drivers license and assume you now have the right to drive on good roads, well, we should have the right to insist you vote first. If you want to be able to rush into an emergency room and be attended to, well, we should have the right to insist you understand the health choices and vote accordingly. If you feel a police person or fire person should be at your house within minutes of your 911 call, then we should insist you understand and vote accordingly for the laws of our country. The same goes for education; equal rights; employment; water; environment; etc.

“We” being the people who live and work in the USA – the people who respect how lucky we are to live in a country where we have choices.

Do you remember the millions of people who stood in a line for days to vote for President Nelson Mandela? Each one of those people changed history? The above painting is on a building in South Africa to remind all who live there the importance of voting.

I shall end by stating we should also make it mandatory to bring back some patriotic pride. Stop putting our own country down, or feeling ashamed or less than. I always call myself Zimbabwean, and I am also very proud to be an American Citizen. When I lived in Africa and worked in philanthropy, the most generous country was always America. Many of my closest friends, not to mention my immediate family are American. Curious, funny, smart and above all compassionate.

Come on America! Let’s please wake up (again) to how voting literally changes the course of history, raise a full (uncracked) glass to progress and remember just how lucky we are. We must never ever have the low turn out we did yesterday. Onwards… – C

ps. No, I do not have the answers. I have no idea how one might structure this? Of course there should be education, and tests – like we have to become a citizen; or how we are informed in Jury Duty; or have to have pass a test to get a license to drive. It is probably very complicated, but then again, it could create new jobs and new ways to truly inform people. Austraila has mandatory voting and it works exceptionally well. I look forward to peoples thinking on this.

Whats important is not the Apathy of not voting, but the ignorance of those who vote who have no idea what America stands for and what the Constitution means. What many of these low information voters vote for are free handouts and welfare programs which try to emulate Socialist Govt’s in Europe which as we all know have failed and are broke and draining the funds of the European Union. Mandatory voting is not only Authoritarian, but anti Liberty and what it perpetuates is a Socialist form of government which hopes to penalize those who have worked hard to creat businesses, and personal family wealth. Mandatory voting sounds like its a noble cause, but it would basically destroy America as the founding fathers created it. Turning America into a Bankrupt Socialist Nation, not an Exceptional Constitutional Democracy as our forefathers wanted.

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My parents tell me since day one, I have always loved people, stories and story telling. I love learning from children and elders, in particular I am interested in stories of how people came to understand they required different methodologies for learning, and how they came to be interested in causes or social impact initiatives. CQ (communication Quotient) is a big passion of mine and one day I’ll find the time to complete the research. Online allows this reach to spread further and the letters I have received over the years are from countries I have yet to visit. I so appreciate the time you take and I do read and value every single eletter. Whilst I may not get to respond to all, please know it is my intention to do so.

Thank you again for taking the time to connect. Be well. -C

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As well as being engaged by organizations all over the world to either help accelerate their companies, or learn best practices of social impact investing, Clare Munn has been invited to speak through a multitude of arenas, such as radio, television and digital media through various events, schools and corporations for over twenty years. Please contact Boxspring Entertainment for more details and scheduling availability.